Kinetographic camera



Patented Apr. 4; |899. 0. B. UEPUE. KINETUGRAPHIC CAMERA.

(Application lod Oct, 20, 189B.)

5 Sheets-Sheet l.

l l l I i I No. 622,45I.

(No Model.)

PETERS CQ, PHOTO-LITHO., NASNINGYON IZ'4 C` Patented Apr. 4, |899.

0. B ynEPue. l Kmnosnumc cAnEnA.

(Application Bled Oct. 20, 1898.)

5 Sheath-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

0.' B. DEPUE.

KINETOGRAPHIC CAMERA.

` (Application lqd Oct. 20, 1898.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

No. 622,45I. Patented Apr. 4, |899.`

No. 622,45I. Patented Apr. 4, |899.`

0. B. DEPUE. KINETOGRAPHIC CAMERA.

(Applcntionjlad Oct. 20, 159B.)

No. 622,45I. Patented Apr. 4, |899.

0. B. DEPUE. KmeTosnAPmc cAmEnA.

(Application ined oec. 2o, 189s.) (No Model.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

1n: Nomar. Putas co, Pnolumo. wAsHmaTnN. n c

4Urnrrnio STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR B. DEPUE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

KINETOGRAPHIC CAM ERA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,451, dated April 4,1899.

Application filed October 20, 1898. Serial No. 694,117. (No model.)

To eZ/f YL11/wmf it, may con/cern:

Be itknown thatI, OSCAR B. DEPUE, of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Photographing Objects in Motion and for ProjectingPictures, of whiclrthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for photographing objects in motionand for projecting the pictures thus produced, or, in other words, to acombined kinetographic and kinetoscopic camera adapted for effective useVboth in the taking of pictures of moving objects and in the projectingof these pictures upon a screen or suitable surface.

The object of the present invention is to provide an efficient, simple,and easily-manipulated mechanism for producing and controlling themovement of the film and, further, generally to simplify theconstruction of the operating mechanism; and to these ends the inventionconsists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describeand will thenparticularly point out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation, partly insection, of a camera embodying my invention with the rear wall or coverof the ease removed. Fig. 2 is a similar view, in side elevation, withthe side wall of the casing removed. Fig. 3 is a seetional view,taken onthe line 3 3 of Fig. l,lool; ing in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4:is a front elevation with the front door or cover open in order to showthe interior of the shutter-chamber. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic View,

- partly in section, through the eccentric roller employed when theapparatus is used as a kinetograph, illustrating the relative operativepositions of said roller and its actuatinggearing. Fig. 6 is aperspective view of said roller. Fig. 7 is a similar view of theeccentric roller employed when the apparatus is used as a kinetoscope.Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3 8 of Fig. 1. Fig.9 is a similar view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 10 is aview similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a modified form of the apparatus.

In the said drawings, 15 indicates a suitable casing adapted to inclosethe mechanism and to exclude the light, said casing having upright orvertical partitions 1G, which serve to support the various parts of themechanism.

17 indicates the main or driving shaft, to which power may be applied bymeans of a detachable crank-handle 1S in order to turn said shaft byhand, the casing being apertured, as shown at 19, to permit the end ofthe shaftto project in order to receive the crank-handle, and therebeing provided a light-excluding washerv 20, the flange whereof extendsinto a groove 21 in the wall of the casing. The shaft 17 is providedwith a gearwheel 22, which meshes with a gear-wheel 23 on a shaft 24,which carries the nlm-feeding roll 25. This latter is provided withsprocket-teeth 26, one series near each end of said roll, to engage withcorresponding pcrforations 27 in the film 28, as is usual in apparatusof this character. In connection with the feed-roll 251 employ a curvedplate 29, pivoted on a pin or axis 30 and having a spring 31, whichpresses it normally toward the roll 25, against which it holds the filmand causes the same to engage positively with the teeth 26. The plate 29has marginal slots 32 to accommodate the teeth 2G. The film is drawnfrom a drum or spool 33, which is removably mounted on a pin or axis 3ain the upper part of the casing. Motion isimparted to this drum, or,rather, to the roll of film thereon, by means of a roller 35, mounted ina frame 36, pivoted on a shaft 37, said frame being pressed toward thedrum 33, so as to hold the roller 35in contact with the film thereon, bymeans of a spring 38. Motion is imparted to' the roller 35 by means of abelt or endless cord 39, which passes around said roller 35, which isgrooved to receive it, and also around a grooved pulley or wheel 4:0,secured on the shaft 37. The shaft 37 is driven from the shaft 24 bymeans of a cross-belt 41, passing around a pulley 42 on the shaft 24'and a similar pulley 43 on the shaft 37.

The film is received upon a drum or spool 44, .similar to the drum orspool 33, with which it is interchangeable, being mounted loosely andremovably upon the outer end of the main shaft 17. Motion is imparted tothis drum or spool from the shaft 2% by means of a sprocket chain a5,which passes over a sprocket-wheel G on the shaft 2l and over a similarsprocket-wheel i7 on a sleeve iS, mounted loosely on the shaft 17.

49 indicates a friction-band encircling the sleeve i8 and having a pin50, which engages an aperture 5l in the drum il. The frictionband i9 issuliiciently loose upon the sleeve to slip thereon when the resistanceof the drum il becomes excessive.

The film after being drawn from the drum 33 passes over a guide-roll 52,which is located above an opening 53 in the wall of the casing of thecamera, said opening affording a means for exposing a section of thefilm. The film is held in a flat condition while passing this opening bymeans of a frame 5l, hinged at one side of the opening 53, as indicatedat 55', and being pressed against the iilm when closed by means of apivoted button 5G, which may be projected over a spring 57 on the backof the frame. The surfaces over which the film travels at this point maybe covered with felt, plush, or the like, as indicated at 5S, for thepurpose of preventing the film from being scratched or defaced.

Between the exposure-frame and the feed- `roll 25 is located a tensiondevice for imparting an intermittent motion to the portion of the filmlying between the spools or drums 33 and S-i. This device comprises ashaft 59, to which a variable motion is imparted by the followingmechanism: The shaft 59 has located on it an elliptical gear GO, whichmeshes with a similar elliptical gear Gl on a shaft 02, which is drivenfrom the shaft I7 by means of a pinion G3, which meshes with thegearwheel 22 on said shaft 17. The shaft 5G is adapted to carry aneccentric roller, around which the film passes and which serves to feedthe film intermittently. These rollers are interchangeable, differingsomewhat in character, one being employed when the apparatus is used asa projector and the other being substituted when the apparatus is beingused for taking photographs. The form of roller employed in projectingis that shown in detail in Fig. 7 of the drawings and in position inFig. 2 of the drawings, being indicated by the reference-numeral (Si.This roller has a longitudinal opening' G5, by means of which it may beslipped over the shaft 59, to which it is secured in an ysuitablemanner, as by means of a screw GG. The body of the roller liespractically entirely on one side of the central line of the shaft 59 andhas an extension or toe portion G7 of considerable length oreccentrieity and a heel portion GS of less eccentricity. The tee portionG7 is so arranged relatively to the elliptical gear, as will be seenfrom an inspection of Figi of the drawings, that it bears to a maximumextent upon the film when the speed of the shaft is greatest. The roller(3,9, which is shown in detail in Fig. G of thev drawings and in sectionin Fig. 5, has considerable less eccentricity than the roller 0l, andthis eecentricity is so arranged as to bear upon the film to the maximumextent when the speed of the shaft 59 is lowest, as will appear from aninspection of Fig. 5 of the drawings, which illustrates the relativeposition of the roller (39 to the elliptical gears which drive the shaft59.

In order to adapt the apparatus for use in the taking of photographs,there is provided at the front of the casing a shutter 70, which ismounted on a shaft 7l, provided at its rear end with a beveled pinion72, which meshes with a corresponding beveled pinion 73, formed in onepiece with a spur-pinion 7i, which meshes with the gear 25. The shutterhas preferably the form of a disk, as shown in Fig. i of the drawings,said disk being notched or cut out at its periphery, as indicated at 75,and the size of the notch being controlled by means of a pivoted segment7G, which may be projected to a greater or less extent over the notchfor this purpose. The body of the shutter obscures the opening 53,except when the notch 75 passes in front of said openin 0^. The shutter7 0 is removable, the casing being provided with a door 77 to giveaccess to the shutter for this purpose, and the shutter is simplyslipped over the end of the shaft 7l, being provided with a pin 7S,which takes into a hole 79 in a collar SO, secured on the shaft 7l.

Ordinarily in projecting no shutter is used; but with certain classes ofpictures it is found to be sometimes desirable to use a shutter whileprojecting, and for this purpose I prefer to employ a shutter such as isshown in dotted lines in Fig. a of the drawings and in full lines inFig. 3, said shutter consisting of a radial arm 8l of a width aboutequal to the notch 75. This shutter may be connected with the collar 8Oin the saine manner as the shutter 70. I prefer, however, in thisconstruction to provide means for rapidly connecting and disconnectingthe shutter Sl from the collar SO, and for this purpose I provide saidshutter with a hub S2, having a groove S3, which is engaged by theforked upper end of a lever Si, piveted at S5 tothe casing and extendingrearward therefrom to a point where it may readily be operated. It willbe at once seen that by means of this lever the shutter may be startedand stopped by connecting with or disconnecting it from the collar SO.

I prefer to provide as a desirable adjunct a registering device whichwill indicate the amount of film which has been fed through the machine,and for this purpose I employ a registering mechanism SG of any approvedconstruction, mounted on the wall of the easing and having asprocket-wheel S7, which is adapted to be engaged by an eccentric-pin SSon the end of the shaft of the feed-roll 25. I also prefer to employ afly-wheel S9 to give smoothness of motion to the parts, and in theconstruction shown this ily-wheel is indi ated as being mounted upon theshaft G2.

The camera will of course be provided with the usual photographing andprojecting lenses, condenser, rbc., which are required to equip it forits different uses. v

The apparatus thus constructed when employed for projecting operates inthe following manner: Motion being imparted to the shaft 17 the film isfed through the machine from the upper drum or spool 33 to the lower one1li. Prior, however, to starting the machine a sufficient amount of filmis pulled up between the spool 323 and the guide-roll 52 to `form aloop, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, said loop containing anamount of film equal to at least the extent of film containing onepicture and forming one exposure. When the machine is started,therefore, the shaft 59 will rotate until the extremity of its toe 67bears against the film below the point of exposure, whereupon it willgive a rapid downward motion at a very high rate of speed, therebydrawing the film downward, so as to remove the picture exposed at theopening 53 and replace it by the succeeding one. This motion of the filmis an exceedingly rapid one owing to the great eccentricity of the toe67 of the roller Gf and tothe fact that this eccentricity operates uponthe film when the shaft 59 is at its maximum speed. During the remainderof the rotation of the shaft 59 the roller 04- does not tend to pull thefilm downward, but leaves it stationary, merely keeping such a tensionon it as will hold it tautover the roll 25, which takes up the filmwhich is de- `livered to it from the roller 64. During this stationaryperiod of the film the roller 35 is feeding forward sufficient film fromthe upper spool 33 to form a second loop, and at the proper time thefilm is again drawn down, so as to expose another picture, the roller 35always providing a surplus to form a loop and prevent the film frombeing strained or torn bythe action of the roller (it. The constructionis such that the shifting'of the picture is done in a minimum amount oftime, thereby materially aiding in the optical effect sought to beproduced. yAs the film is fed forward regularly by the roll 25 and drawnonto the lower spool 4f the roll of film increases in diameter, so thatsince the spool 44C is driven from the roll 25 the film will be tornunless some compensating movement of one of the parts is provided. Thiscompensation is found in the slipping of the spool 44E relatively to itsdriving-sleeve f8 by means of the friction-band 49, which connects thetwo, so that as the roll of film on the spool increases in size thespool will slip to an extent sufficient to maintain a proper movementrelatively to the feed-roll 25. By mounting the spoolt: and its drivingmechanism loosely upon the main driving-shaft 17 the entire device ismade much more compact. The mounting of the roller 35 in thespring-controlled pivoted frame 3G provides an effective means forfeeding the film from the upper spool to form the loop, while at thesaine time permitting ready access to the spool and film ventiOn.

and facilitating the removal or replacing of the spool.

When the apparatus is employed for mal;- ing photographs, the roller G9is substituted for the roller (54., and its arrangement is such that itgives a required period of rest to the film during the exposure and acomparatively slow movement in changing the film to expose a newportion. The reason for this is that it is immaterial what the rate ofmove ment during the change is providing it is made during the time whenthe shutter closes the opening 53, and consequently a comparatively slowrate of speed may be employed for this purpose. i

The various details of the structure herein before set forth mayobviously be varied without departing from the principle of my inn Forinstance, the'apparatus heretofore described is one which isparticularly adapted for use with a film having perforations and afeed-roll having teeth, so as to insure the passage of a given amount offilm past the lopening 53 at each rotation of the driving-shaft. Themachine may, however, be adapted for use with plain films which are notperforated and which not being positively engaged by the feed-roll havea variable movement. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 10 of thedrawings. In this construction the toothed feed-roll 25 is dispensedwith and a roll 90, which is plain or untoothed, is employed.` The lowerspool or drum 44 is mounted on a shaft 91, lying rearward of the casingof the instrument, and is positively driven by a sprocket-chain 92 fromthe shaft 24. The film passing over the roll 90 passes underneath atensionroller 93, which is mounted on one end of a lever-arm 94, whichin turn is loosely mounted on the shaft 91, and has an actuating-handle95, by means of which the tension on the film may be regulated andthe-length of the loop between rollers 90 and 98 varied to compensatefor the increase in diameter of the roll of film. Moreover, by means ofthis device the operator by watching the projection of the pictures may,when he observes any variation -in the presentation of the sections ofthe film,

control their rate of feed, so as to bring them back to accuratepresentation by either pressing the roller harder against the film orrelieving'the pressure, as the case may be, unn til the presentation isaccurate. Vthen this means of correcting the feed of the film isprovided, the positive feed obtained bythe toothed feed-rollandperforated film may be dispensed with. Other modifications willreadily suggest themselves, and I therefore do not wish to be understoodas limiting myself strictly to the precise details of constructionhereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings.

I claim- 1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination,with means for continuously feeding the film, of means for im- IOO IIO

parting to a portion of the film an intermittent motion, said meanscomprising a shaft rotating at a variable speed and carrying aneccentric surface to bear upon the film, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the cha acter described, the combination, withfeeding mechanism for imparting to the film a continuous motion, ofmeans for imparting to a portion of the film an intermittent motion,said means comprising a shaft carrying an eccentric surface to bear uponthe film, and gearing connecting said shaft with the continuous-feedingmechanism and comprisinga pairof elliptical gears, substantially asdescribed.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmechanism for continuously feeding the film, of means for imparting to aportion of the film an intermittent motion, said means comprising ashaft rotating at a variable speed, and a plurality of rollers ofvarying eccentricity adapted to be substituted for one another on saidshaft, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmechanism for continuously feeding the film, of means for imparting to aportion of the film an intermittent motion, said means comprising ashaft rotating at a variable speed, and a plurality of eccentric rollersadapted to be substituted for one another on said shaft with theireccentricities in varying relations to said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmechanism for continuously feeding the film, of means for imparting to aportion of. the film an intermittent motion, said means comprising ashaft and gearing connecting said shaft with the continuous-feedingmechanism and comprising a pair of elliptical gears, and a plurality ofeccentric rollers adapted to be substituted for one another on saidshaft with their eceentricities in varying positions with relation tothe eccentricities of the elliptical gears, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus of the character described,the combinatiomwith acontinuouslyrotating feeding-roll for positively engaging and feedingthe film, of a receiving-spool for the film, and driving mechanism forsaid spool comprising a pair of frictionall y-engagin g ele` ments,whereby the drum or spool may be permitted to slip to vary its rate ofrotation with respect to the feed-roll, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, the eombination,withacontinuouslyrotating feed-roll for positively engaging the film, of adrum or spool for receiving the film from said roll, a rotating partdriven from said roll, and a friction-band connected with the drum orspool and frictionally engaging said rotating part, substantially asdescribed.

S. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination,with themain driving-shaft, of a continuously-rotating feed-roll for positivelyengaging the film, connecting mechanism for driving said feed-roll fromthe main shaft, a drum or spool loosely mounted on said main shaft,asleeve also loosely mount ed on said main shaft, a friction-bandembracing said sleeve and connected with the drum or spool, and gearingconnecting said sleeve and the feed-roll, substantially as described.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmeans for imparting an intermittent motion to the film, and a spool ordrum from which the film is drawn, said drum being mounted on a fixedshaft, of a feeding mechanism for said spool or drum comprising arotating shaft, a frame loosely mounted thereon, a feed-roller mountedin the free end of said frame and operatively connected with therotating shaft, and a spring for forcing said feed-roller toward thedrum, whereby said frame maybe swung away from said drum when desired,and will be automatically returned to contact with the film thereon whenreleased, substantially as described.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmeans for intermittently feeding the film, of a spool or drum from whichthe film is drawn, and a feeding mechanism therefor comprising arotating shaft having a pulley thereon, a frame loosely mounted on saidshaft, a feed-roller in the free end of said frame, a band passingaround said pulley and feed-roller, and a spring for normally forcingsaid feed-roller toward the spool or drum, substantially as described.

1l. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmechanism for feeding the film, of a rotating shaft, a shutter mountedon said shaft, and means controlled by the operator for connecting saidshutter with and disconnectingit from said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

l2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination, withmeans for intermittently feeding the film, of a rotating shaft having acollar thereon, a shutter loosely mounted on said shaft and adapted toengage said collar, and a lever having one end engaged with the shutterto move the same toward and from the collar and its other end withinconvenient reach of the operator, substantially as described.

OSCAR B. DEPUE.

Witn esses:

C. C. LINTHICUM, FREDERICK C. GOODWIN.

